


Conviction

by SteveGarbage



Series: FEH Resplendent Hero shorts [13]
Category: Fire Emblem Heroes
Genre: Askr (Fire Emblem Heroes), Gen, Resplendent Hero, Siblings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-10
Updated: 2020-08-10
Packaged: 2021-03-05 23:28:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 899
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25823644
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SteveGarbage/pseuds/SteveGarbage
Summary: A short story celebrating Olwen's Resplendent Hero garb of Askr.
Series: FEH Resplendent Hero shorts [13]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1722151
Comments: 1
Kudos: 8





	Conviction

_"Home... No, I cannot go back to Castle Friege. I can't show my face there until I right the wrongs I helped commit, and rescue the children taken by the Loptians. Don't try to argue—I've already made up my mind."_

The border of Askr was quiet tonight.

The clip-clop of her horse's hooves amid the backdrop of insects, nocturnal birds and the wind were all that was on the horizon tonight. Olwen was ready to turn back, file her report and head off to bed. No danger in the kingdom tonight.

When she had asked to join the Order of Heroes, they had not hesitated to accept her. Askr was a welcoming place and the prince, princess and commander were always willing to take in those who wanted to serve.

The Order stood in defense of its people and in defense of the realms. They had stood against the ruthless, destructive aggression of Muspell and its King Surtr and had defeated the wicked Hel and her minions of the dead.

The decision had been easy to make.

Their cause was just and right. They were worthy of her service.

_"I'm more than just your little sister! I'm my own woman! This is the decision I came to after thinking it over on my own. I know what it means for me. I've prepared myself for the anguish it will bring. Not even the words of my own brother could sway my mind now."_

She had made a similar decision long ago.

When she had been betrayed by those who were trusted to command her, when she had uncovered the dark truth of the Child Hunts and the true motives of the Loptr Church, when she saw her homeland of Grannvale for what it truly was, she had turned her cloak and joined the Liberation Army.

The decision had been easy to make.

Their cause was just and right. They were worthy of her service.

_“I see... So you really are serious about this... It's exactly as Bishop Saias said. You have indeed grown up—that's clear to me now. You've become a formidable woman, Olwen."_

And yet, even now she carried the weight of lingering doubt.

In her youth, her eyes seemed to see the world so clearly in those binaries — good and evil, justice and injustice, right and wrong. There were only ever two sides and she could so easily distinguish the lines and pick the side she wanted to be on. She was driven by that conviction, it gave her the confidence to act and rest easy that she had chosen the correct path.

And then, at the Great River of Thracia, she had once more come face to face with her brother, Reinhardt.

He had offered her a chance to go home, to lay down her tome and sword and put and end to the war.

She couldn't.

_"I'm proud of you. This is the last time I'll be able to treat you as my little sister, and not as my enemy.”_

Maybe she was naive, to expect that her brother would see that fire in her, that he might be convinced to join her. Surely, if she could see what had become of their homeland, at what had been done to Friege in the name of Loptr, if he would hear her plea and see the conviction in her eyes, then he too could be turned away.

That didn't happen.

Reinhardt had unstrapped his sword and given it to her, as a gift. She hadn't understood him. She had begged him to explain why, with tears welled in her eyes.

He had scolded her, wheeled his horse around and rejoined his Gelben Ritter.

_"Now ride back to your army, Olwen! The next time we meet on the battlefield, I'll show you no mercy, sister of mine or no! Am I clear?!"_

Leif and his army crossed the great bridge. Their army had clashed furiously with the enemy. The battle left hundreds dead and the river red with blood.

And in the end, her brother had fallen, opposing them to his last.

To this day, she couldn't understand.

How could her brother love her, be proud of her and yet still fight against her? How could he stand and defend a nation that had belittled, disgraced and abused him? How could he fight, when he must have known what he defended was indefensible?

She could only see the world in those binaries. Good and evil. Justice and injustice. Right and wrong. There was always a line, and either she stood on one side or the other.

And yet, her brother had seemed to look at both sides and choose neither.

In the end, he stood for his ideals, for his liege lady, for his loyalty. In doing so, he stood for Grannvale, he stood for the Child Hunts, he stood for Loptr.

Was her brother good, or evil? Was his cause just, or unjust? Was he right, or was he wrong?

Why was Reinhardt not spurred by the same conviction that flowed through her so strongly, so passionately, so assuredly?

Were her actions, her choices, her ardor right, or wrong?

The clip-clop of her horse's hooves, the chittering of insects, the hoot of an owl and the whisper of the wind provided no answers as she turned the reins to head back to the fortress.


End file.
